I’ve received a lot of questions asking what I think about the History Channel’s “Human Weapon” Series so here’s my take:
I think the History Channel’s “Human Weapon” is a great way for people to get a good look at a lot of the more popular martial arts like: Karate, Judo, Silat, Escrima, Muy Thai, Kung Fu as well as some of the lesser known arts like: Pankration, Savate, Bokador, and Sambo. The series also covers Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training as well as military hand to hand combat systems like Israel’s Krav Maga and the US Marine Corps Martial Art Program.
The series is ambitious in its coverage of the history of these martial arts and fighting systems while giving the viewer a good grounding on the unique training approaches each discipline brings to the table.
The hosts, Jason Chambers and Bill Duff, are good sports as they attempt to digest one Martial Art/Combat Sport after another and subject themselves good naturedly to each unique training protocol the martial art/combat sport utilizes to prepare for competition.
Most entertaining is the end of each segment when one of these poor bastards subjects himself to a match with that discipline’s competition champion. So far in the series the guys have fared better than you’d think in these matches.
So for the above reasons alone I’d recommend the series be watched by those interested in Martial Arts, Self Defense, or Combat Sports in general.
If you watch it with a discriminating eye towards effective use of violence you’ll gather a tremendous amount of information about the limiting aspects of these martial arts/fighting systems have when it comes to learning effective methods and principles for dealing with real violence on the street.
The episodes show how most of the training favors the bigger/faster/stronger approach to dealing with self defense. The physics and physiology discussed in the explanation portion of the instruction is often either wrong or misguided. Most times sheer aggression is favored over a clear explanation for the techniques shown in the series.
The result of that approach is that more often than not the hosts don’t “get it”. This is not because the guys are inept but because the instruction is incomplete. A great instructor should be able to show strikes, throws, and joint breaks that have clear explanations any student can replicate.
That doesn’t mean the student can do it right away but it does mean that they understand exactly what they need to do to accomplish the technique shown. I find this to be the most intriguing “back story” of the series. That is that most of the “experts” in these arts and sports fail to give clear explanations of what they are trying to accomplish with each technique.
As far as good targeting of the human body — there is little of it anywhere in the series. Backing up the little targeting of the human body (that they do show) with real physics and physiology would be helpful but that is also missing (even though they have cool graphics and animations of such subjects).
These elements are not so important when competition is the goal because these oversights are neutered with rules, weight classes, and conditioning methods. But when your life is on the line and you have no referee, no weight classes, and no rules it is absolutely essential you go into your violent confrontation armed with this critical information — that is, if you want to survive and take out the bigger/faster/stronger threat (and the “friends” he brings with him).
So I’d strongly recommend you check out the History Channel’s Human Weapon series, just watch it two different ways. The first is for the entertainment provided by the great hosts and history of each martial art or combat sport. The second is to look for the gaps these martial arts and combat sports have when placed against the standard of what works in the world of real violence.
So that’s all for now,
Tim Larkin
http://targetfocustraining.com/
